Gullah/Geechee Musical Environmental Journeys

Gullah/Geechee Nation ♦ June 7, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

by Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation www.QueenQuet.com

Whenever I have an opportunity to stand on the shoreline of the Gullah/Geechee Nation my spirit gets renewed. It is not only the warm Sea Island breeze laced in salt with its unique smell, it is also the rustle in the trees and the sway of the salt marsh that a dancer like me finds kinship with. I can hear an ancestral choir singing to a polyrhythmic beat that tends to be punctuated by the rhythms of crashing waves or the ripples in the river. Tenk GAWD fa de Sea Islands!

The occasional fish jumping out of the water as a dolphin attempts to get it for lunch is always an intriguing sight to see. The blue crabs are a bit more stealth as they maneuver near the shoreline. I do my best to get out of the water quickly when I see them at the beach! Aaaah, but when I think about that, I realize that it has been quite some time since I have seen blue crabs at the beach. They are not as plentiful as they once were. With that in mind, I started to wonder if it was just me and then I heard from the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association that there were less crabs being trapped. So, being the scientist that I am, I wanted to know more about why this was the case and what could be happening to and in the water.

My quest for an understanding led me to engaging in learning more about the causes of ocean acidification. Water quality is not only essential to the creatures that live in the water but to native Gullah/Geechees who live on the islands surrounded by these waterways. Seafood is a major staple in our diets. So, without sustaining our fisheries, we have food insecurity and a loss of cultural traditions. “Acidification” definitely sounded like it would jeopardize all of that!

My ocean acidification journey led me to learn about this new negative impact of climate change. What I learned from the scientists that focused on this issue and created this terminology was something that I felt needed to be put into a more accessible context. My engagement in learning about and teaching about ocean acidification has taken me to United Nations conferences to speak about the Gullah/Geechee cultural heritage interconnectivity with the Atlantic Ocean. The Gullah/Geechee Nation is a part of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification and we were one of the first member nations to create our our own Ocean Action Plan which I unveiled in Korea at the first UN Ocean Action meeting:

In the midst of the plan creation, I realized before we could get our citizens to take actions, they needed to know more about what they were acting on or on behalf of. So, I created an ocean acidification lesson:

https://oceanacidification.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A-Lesson-on-Ocean-Acidification-Final.pdf

Click to access A-Lesson-on-Ocean-Acidification-Final.pdf

During the 2026 Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), I was pleased that the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network (SOCAN) featured the Lesson on Ocean Acidification and that the National Ocean & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continues to share it as a resource. This is critical because until we actually reverse the actions that humans are taking that cause the imbalance in the pH of the ocean, we will continue to need to educate and engage the public. Therefore, this lesson and more continue to be part of the resources of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition‘s “Gullah/Geechee Saving Environmental Actions (SEA) & Marine Environment (ME) Program.“

To expand the resources and outreach of “Gullah/Geechee SEA & ME,” I have created a series of videos that relate to other aspects of our work such as our work as a part of the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI www.marshforward.org) in which I have shared how critical it is to be a part of S.A.L.T.-Saving a Lowcountry Treasure:

and the saving of the Blake Plateau:

I am enjoying being an active part of the initiatives that are vital to the sustainability of the environmental resources of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. So, it was essential that I show people some of the successful work that “Gullah/Geechee SEA & ME” has underway. To that end, I combined my love of music with the love of my Sea Island home. This resulted in my first two “Gullah/Geechee SEA & ME” musical journey videos:

The first video amassed over 25,000 views within days along with numerous requests to share and embed it in other environmental sites. I am truly honored by the reception that it has already received and I pray it helps others to realize how vital it is that we have living shorelines on our coasts. I also look forward to the rain garden video catching up in viewership and engagement as well. What we do within our Gullah/Geechee family compounds to address storm water and flood mitigation is just as important as what we are doing directly on the coastline and in the waterways.

Having these musical environmental pieces released during “Black Music Month” helps others to hear the kinds of melodies that I feel in my soul and dance to when I am on the Gullah/Geechee Nation‘s shoreline. I look forward to others from around the world meeting me on these shores where healing and health will forever flow. Tenk GAWD fa who webe! Tenk GAWD fa Gullah/Geechee SEA & ME!